


Hypnagogia

by evexe-n (manatsuko)



Series: What Dreams May Come [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Dreams vs. Reality, Gen, Waking Dreams, if you squint really hard you might spot prideship, pre-DSOD, vague DSOD spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 18:09:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10314035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manatsuko/pseuds/evexe-n
Summary: If the dead were able to dream, somebody should've warned me about it, Atem thought.





	

 

 

Sometimes, he dreamed.

Atem was unsure if this was a regular occurrence in Aaru or not, but gave it the advantage of doubt. Barely any time had passed since he arrived here, surely not enough to familiarize himself completely with his new home. It had been two, maybe three months in the living world, he thought. It was hard to tell.

Considering one's first thoughts at the word 'afterlife' would naturally tend towards 'eternal rest', the concept of dreaming felt out of place here. Nonetheless, that was the only way Atem could describe the strange phenomenon.

It'd been a long time since he experienced true dreams. Whatever state he'd been in when the Puzzle was disassembled, it left him with little recollection of the long years spent in isolation. He was fairly certain there hadn't been any dreams.

As a spirit, well... there were a lot of hours spent in his soul room or in spirit form by Yugi's bedside, but even then, no real sleep. The closest he got were the moments where he could tune out the world, not quite managing to doze off but simply losing track of time.

It'd been a lot like that in Aaru when he first arrived. Time never truly passed, but there seemed to be a facsimile of day- and night-time nonetheless. Clear blue skies alternated with the star-streaked universe. Atem never got sleepy, but whenever he closed his eyes and wished to rest, he would.

Dreamlessly.

Until recently, at least.  

It started with little, far off noises. Soft clicking, the rustle of clothing, hushed voices carried away by the wind. The ring of metal, sometimes. Always at the edge of perception, not worth noting.

He'd spot little flickers of light dancing behind his eyelids when he blinked. They twirled and rose and fell and ran like string along empty space the color of not-quite-black. The smooth sensation of cards at his fingertips, the weight of his - no, _Yugi's_ , never _his_ \- Duel Disk on his arm.

The feeling of it all was akin to what he remembered dreams to be like, back during his lifetime. That narrow line between wakefulness and sleep where anything seemed both real and fake. The place where reality and imagination crossed and blurred.

The odd experiences grew more frequent.

They escalated.

When he'd close his eyes now, he floated in nothingness. The voices grew louder, made incomprehensible by the _buzzing_. It rang in his ears, he couldn't move, he couldn't open his eyes, he didn't understand.

He took deep breaths, trying to keep from panicking.

He was standing on polished tile, he was buried in sand.

It would pass, it always did.

That fact didn't calm him down when he felt a presence other than himself draw near. Exhaled air rushing from lungs, a snarled reply, an unexpectedly gentle warmth on his cheek.

Something crawled along his scalp.

Pure sensation gave way to still images of places both familiar and not. One day he saw stone and sand, another he looked at stained glass. There was no set pattern between image and sound.

Cold - cards - drilling

Stars - birdsong - falling

He jerked back awake.

They weren't nightmares. None of what he saw truly scared him, not even when in the dream itself, dread crept up his spine like a spider's gait. At the same time, he was not sure they were _dreams_ either. Everything was too vivid, too real, to be mere subconscious imagination. He didn't know what to call this, couldn't put a name to it.

Was this what dreams were supposed to be like? He wished he could ask Yugi.

But that was no longer an option.

Eventually, he asked Shimon for advice. He explained his situation best as he could, words failing him and feeding his frustration. Atem talked and talked, repeating and correcting gaps in his story, praying that Shimon would understand.

When Atem had nothing left to tell, they sat in silence, sunken in thought. Shimon seemed to be weighing possibilities, pondering which would prove correct.

"Your Majesty," the priest started hesitantly, "Have you considered that these inconveniences you speak of might be connected to your _Ren_?"

Atem frowned, puzzled. How could his Name be the cause?

"What do you mean?"

"Your friends have become aware of your Name, have they not?" Shimon looked up at him, inclining his head.

"They have," Atem replied, "but I must admit I do not see a connection."

Shimon continued, "A Name holds power, not only for the one who bears it, but for those who utter it as well. While the remembrance of your Name allows you to live on in Aaru, if one who knows your Name is holding on to the bond it provides with excess, it might have unforeseen consequences. Such as allowing you to perceive events transpiring in their world as if it were nothing but dreams."

If that was the case, wouldn't Atem be able to tell what exactly he dreamed about? Whenever he woke, he would remember nothing but flashes of sensation, blue-white light and darkness, nothing concrete. How could it be a connection to reality when it all felt disconnected instead?

Atem was well aware of the power one's _Ren_ held and the risks it brought, more so than many. But it took more than just knowing or even speaking someone's Name to hold power over them.

"My friends understand my reasons for passing through the Doors", he spoke with conviction. "Of course they might miss me, as I miss them, but they wouldn't-"

Shimon motioned for him to wait, speaking up again once Atem fell silent. "I am not suggesting one of them is purposefully making use of your Name in such a way, Your Highness. However, one mustn't rule out accidental use of a power unknown to them."

Atem clenched his fists. On one hand, he had faith that the bond between him and all of his friends was strong enough to withstand anything, even now. On the other hand, he didn't believe that any of them would hang on to the thread of his Name with enough power to quite literally pull part of him back towards them. Letting go, allowing Atem and themselves to move on didn't diminish the strength of their bond in the slightest.

The dreams continued.

They twisted.

He saw people he'd never met, talking in hushed but hurried voices. The smell of burnt metal and open skies was everywhere.

The monsters, he recognized. Kuriboh and Dark Magician, Mystical Elf and Celtic Guardian. They flashed by him - attack - defend - summon - sacrifice. He heard himself speak but couldn't control the words. He moved but without his say so. The lack of conscious action on his part was starting to bother him, immensely.

Dream after dream, he saw the same backdrop of pillars and heard the toll of bells. A figure across the room, hidden in shadows.

An opponent.

Snarled replies, coat flaring out in the wind.

A glare cold as ice.

_Kaiba?!_

But Kaiba didn't know-

Atem sucked in a breath, realization dawning.

Kaiba couldn't know his name. Kaiba wasn't with them when they travelled to Egypt, when Atem and Yugi and their friends played the Memory World's RPG. He wouldn't know how they defeated Zorc at last and about the ceremonial duel. He wasn't there when Atem walked through the Doors.

He'd left for the US after Battle City was over and done with, a half-made promise to duel again someday the only farewell he made.

Atem never properly said goodbye to Kaiba, did he?

Not quite a friend, never just a rival. A bond none the less valuable for its lack of description.

A road left unfinished.

Atem could hit himself for being so stupid. And then hit Kaiba for the same reason.

He dreamed of duels.

Of battling Blue Eyes White Dragon again, only it looked _different_. He observed, unable to actively participate in whatever program Kaiba was using to simulate their fight.

He dreamed of the familiar-unfamiliar people wearing lab coats, circling and making notes.

He dreamed of not-quite-himself.

Kaiba had made a hologram of him, not unlike his projection of Duel Monsters cards but yet wholly different. It was an AI. Programmed to look like him, sound like him, act like him. _To be him_.

If Kaiba was recreating Atem's image with his technology-

If Kaiba knew his _Ren_ , somehow-

If Kaiba believed strongly enough-

It was perfectly possible that Kaiba had managed to recall part of Atem's soul to the living world. The hologram's Duelist ID may have read 'Yugi Mutou', but the person, _the soul_ , Kaiba was reaching out to was not Yugi.

It was Atem.

His Life Points counted down.

3000

Not-he revealed a trap, made a counter attack, drew a card.

2100

Not-he made a witty comment, countered a spell, defended.

400

Not-he laughed.

0

He made his lips move, his voice resonate by sheer force of will.

"Kaiba!"

For a moment, Kaiba froze, an unreadable look on his face.

It passed.

It always did.

"That's enough of you."

A few clicks of a button and their environment revealed metal and glass. The program was being shut down for the day.

Kaiba wasn't looking at him - at the projection - any longer. His gaze was distant, aimed towards the stars outside the window, so close Atem thought he could lift his hand and touch them if he so desired.

"We'll face each other again, soon."

A statement that might have been a plea.

A name that might have been an incantation.

"Atem."

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on two things: the idea that knowing a person's true name gives you power over them, and me wondering how Atem knew enough about what was going on in the living world to expect Kaiba at the end, honestly, what?? Plus, the idea of the image of a person holding a part of them, interesting concept to think about when it's not something like photos but a hologram.
> 
> It's also supposed to be a prologue to my planned-but-not-yet-written longfic.
> 
> My tumblr: [ [evexe-n] ](https://evexe-n.tumblr.com)


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